The J. Howard Marshall, II, Papers,
[ca. 1920s]-1980 (bulk 1950s-1960s) contains business and personal papers, including
daybooks, legal records, publications, reports, meeting minutes, correspondence,
school notebooks, and financial ledgers and records. These shed light on his
involvement in the Fund for the Republic, National Petroleum Council, Frontier
Refining Company, Department of the Interior, and numerous other petroleum and
federal organizations, as well as his years spent at the Yale Law School.

Born in Pennsylvania, James Howard Marshall, II (1905-1995) graduated from the Yale
Law School in 1931 and went on to specialize as an oil industry attorney. Eventually
winding up in Houston, Texas, he served as president and vice president for numerous
oil and energy companies, including the Ashland Oil and Refining Company, Signal Oil
& Gas, and Union Texas Petroleum. He founded Marshall Petroleum in 1984.

In 1931, Marshall married Eleanor Pierce, with whom he had sons James Howard, III,
and Everett Pierce Marshall. After divorcing in 1961, he married Bettye Bohannon (d.
1991). In 1994, Marshall married future actress Anna Nicole Smith. After his death
the next year, his widow and his sons made headlines in a legal battle over
Marshall's billion-dollar estate.

The J. Howard Marshall, II, Papers, [ca. 1920s]-1980s (bulk 1950s-1960s) contain
business and personal papers, including daybooks, legal records, publications,
reports, meeting minutes, correspondence, school notebooks, and financial ledgers
and records. These shed light on his involvement in the Fund for the Republic,
National Petroleum Council, Frontier Refining Company, Department of the Interior,
and numerous other petroleum and federal organizations, as well as his years spent
at the Yale Law School.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe
Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011. Additional processing completed in 2014.